1. Insecure is 100% the word I was looking for. Ever since the accident/health scare as was pointed out.

    Plus, his voice, although “tinny” , is much more consistent than anytime. He doesn’t have much power from his chest, but besides the one off from EI where he totally lost his voice, he really hasn’t “struggled” in a vocal performance since maybe the iHeart show? A lot of Pop, Elevation and some Vertigo shows were ROUGH. 2009-2011 was best all around since the late 80s/early 90s, but he’s definitely a more consistent/better singer imo. Again, sounds tinny because he lost that power, but not bad. Just old.

    Also, the headline is a bit misleading. I definitely did not read that he “hates” the band name, his voice and their early songs. The band name was something they just kind of went with, even said that in U2 by U2. I more got the “hearing my own voice makes me cringe and I’m a better songwriter now than when I was 16 so some of the older songs’ lyrics make me cringe.”

    Like look how simple Shadows and Tall Trees is lyrically. Doesn’t make it a bad song, but definitely not good lyrically when you compare it to songs on JT, AB, etc.
  2. At 61 it’s a bit late to be a mid-life crisis but I agree with the comments about a crisis in confidence. There was a clip from early AB days where he says something like “when you’re 16, you think you can take on the world ; and you can”. That’s kind of confidence, bravado, arrogance or whatever you want to call it is what made them successful. But if you look back over the last couple of decades there have been some missteps - NLOTH and the reaction to dropping SOI into every iTunes account, plus some health challenges, that seem to be taking a toll on him. The gaps between albums and the perfectionist approach to them suggests he’s not as confident as he once was.
  3. I surely don't want to hear this kind of negativity from a role model like B. Of course anyone would have complaints about their younger years and the mistakes they have made but to slag-off the name U2 and to complain being embarrassed by earlier songwriting is just cringeworthy. At this time in his life he should be focusing on being grateful that he has a massive audience that has stayed with him for 40 years and has catapulted him to the mega millions status and not complain one word about anything. I'm sorry but I really don't like reading him saying this stuff.
  4. I agree with the insecurity as previously stated. His thoughts also seem more scattered than normal which is concerning. The man has been through some intense and life changing events over the last decade. The short notice back surgery, hideous bicycle accident, the airplane incident where the luggage doors opened, and the 2017 life altering health scare and open heart surgery. There may be some PTSD there as well. Instead of complaining about what he said, perhaps it's time for us to carry Bono, just as his uplifting music and lyrics have carried us over the last 40 plus years.
  5. Originally posted by LostSailor:I agree with the insecurity as previously stated. His thoughts also seem more scattered than normal which is concerning. The man has been through some intense and life changing events over the last decade. The short notice back surgery, hideous bicycle accident, the airplane incident where the luggage doors opened, and the 2017 life altering health scare and open heart surgery. There may be some PTSD there as well. Instead of complaining about what he said, perhaps it's time for us to carry Bono, just as his uplifting music and lyrics have carried us over the last 40 plus years.
  6. Originally posted by LostSailor:I agree with the insecurity as previously stated. His thoughts also seem more scattered than normal which is concerning. The man has been through some intense and life changing events over the last decade. The short notice back surgery, hideous bicycle accident, the airplane incident where the luggage doors opened, and the 2017 life altering health scare and open heart surgery. There may be some PTSD there as well. Instead of complaining about what he said, perhaps it's time for us to carry Bono, just as his uplifting music and lyrics have carried us over the last 40 plus years.
    When did he have open heart surgery?
  7. Originally posted by Release3:Insecure is 100% the word I was looking for. Ever since the accident/health scare as was pointed out.

    Plus, his voice, although “tinny” , is much more consistent than anytime. He doesn’t have much power from his chest, but besides the one off from EI where he totally lost his voice, he really hasn’t “struggled” in a vocal performance since maybe the iHeart show? A lot of Pop, Elevation and some Vertigo shows were ROUGH. 2009-2011 was best all around since the late 80s/early 90s, but he’s definitely a more consistent/better singer imo. Again, sounds tinny because he lost that power, but not bad. Just old.

    Also, the headline is a bit misleading. I definitely did not read that he “hates” the band name, his voice and their early songs. The band name was something they just kind of went with, even said that in U2 by U2. I more got the “hearing my own voice makes me cringe and I’m a better songwriter now than when I was 16 so some of the older songs’ lyrics make me cringe.”

    Like look how simple Shadows and Tall Trees is lyrically. Doesn’t make it a bad song, but definitely not good lyrically when you compare it to songs on JT, AB, etc.
    Headline is definitely misleading. Nothing I read in the article seemed like anything new that I haven't already heard Bono say before, whether in U2 by U2, Bono In Conversation, other interviews, etc. He's never been a fan of his own voice, especially in the 80s when he admittedly did strain and sing way too high (look at how many songs they've performed in lower keys ever since). He's always talked about early lyrics, even of their hits, being "sketches" that could have been better. He's mentioned comparing the name "U2" to a bad pun just like The Beatles.

    And so on...
  8. Originally posted by LostSailor:I agree with the insecurity as previously stated. His thoughts also seem more scattered than normal which is concerning. The man has been through some intense and life changing events over the last decade. The short notice back surgery, hideous bicycle accident, the airplane incident where the luggage doors opened, and the 2017 life altering health scare and open heart surgery. There may be some PTSD there as well. Instead of complaining about what he said, perhaps it's time for us to carry Bono, just as his uplifting music and lyrics have carried us over the last 40 plus years.
    The INSECURITY theme was a play on SECURITY T shirts that one often sees being worn by bouncers and such.

    I think going forward with U2 the messaging is going to be less and less about the band as people (less photos, less video appearances) and more about messaging. This was quite evident during the SOE campaign as they put their children on the covers, used animated videos and sort of became invisible.